1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of agriculture, and more particularly to a system and method for coordinating information relating to the production and tracking of agricultural products and any by-products thereof for providing an agricultural pedigree. The present invention is also directed to utilizing such information for, among other purposes, communication, real time decision making, predictive modeling, risk sharing and/or sustainable agriculture purposes.
2. Background Information
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines “symphonic” in one of its definitions as “suggestive of a symphony especially in form, interweaving of themes or harmonious arrangement.” Usually, a symphony is comprised of several sections of instruments, each with its own characteristics and attributes. During a typical warm up session, each member of each section often plays their own individual warm up routines, and resulting cacophony is most discordant and unpleasant. But with a tap of a baton, the orchestra conductor coordinates the individuals and the sections, to produce quite the opposite result. In many ways, current global food/agricultural products production is in a state similar to that of a symphony in its warm up session, awaiting and in need of the presence of the orchestra conductor. The present invention is directed to addressing that need.
In some instances below, the following discussion will focus on the production of specific agricultural crops for simplicity. It is to be understood that this is simply a mechanism to facilitate description of the present invention in a manner that is easy to understand. The present invention is not so limited as is pointed out below. Similarly, while the discussion below may focus on the production of agricultural products from seeds, the invention is equally not so limited and includes all forms of agricultural product production, whether from seed or other starting material, and is not limited to plant-based agricultural products, but includes for example, meat, poultry, fish, but the invention certainly is not so limited. For the avoidance of doubt, the term agricultural product as used herein includes all of these and any other agricultural products used for any purpose, including but not limited to food, clothing, medicine or any other purpose.
In the current state of global food/agricultural product production, there are conceptually speaking, at least two items being harvested from any field where such crops are grown. First, of course, are the crops themselves. Secondly, and equally importantly in the current world, is the need to harvest information relating to the crop itself. The information associated with the agricultural product that may be collected is substantial indeed. For example, with regard to seed based agricultural products, it includes but is not limited to, information relating to the location of planting, the timing of planting, the variety being planted. Where, when and how the seeds were produced, transported and stored? Was it genetically modified? Were the seeds treated or coated in any way? If so, with what and when? How and when were the seeds planted? What kind of soil? How deep? How much water was applied? Were any insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, fertilizers and/or any other active or inactive ingredients used before, during or soon after planting? If so, what and when and how much of such materials were applied? If any such materials were used, were they applied in furrow, foliarly, post emergence, pre-emergence or combinations thereof? Was such material applied as drench, drip or spray? What this in a greenhouse, a field or other location? If a field, was the field fenced off or otherwise protected in any manner for any purpose, such as but not limited to pest control for example by preventing infestation by deer, mice, insects, fungi, etc. What were the weather conditions during the growth cycle? How much rain? When? What daytime temperatures? What night time temperatures? Were any materials applied post-harvest, such as in storage facilities or to coat/treat the harvested food product for long term storage, appealing looks or other reasons?
After harvest, a similar set of information applies to the entirety of the collection and distribution steps. For example: who transported the crop? When was it picked up at the farm? What path did it take in its distribution to the final consumer? How was it packaged? In what type of vehicle or other transportation device was it transported? Was it stored anywhere in its distribution? Was it treated in any manner during its harvesting, packaging, and/or distribution? If stored, where? How long? Under what conditions? When was it shipped? When did it arrive? When it left the farm, did it go directly to a consumer or a food processor or an international shipper or other destination? Was it inspected or graded by any governmental or other agencies during its production and distribution, and if so, what agencies, when and what were the results?
The foregoing is illustrative only, and the nature, form and amount of information that is relevant to the planting, harvest, sale, transportation and final disposition of the crop varies greatly and is often quite large and is growing in size and complexity, in part because expanding technology is capturing more and more information in our world, leading to the result that the information is becoming of great value, in some cases, as valuable as the crop itself. In short, the information starting with the agricultural product's entire pedigree in terms of its history of development and preparation for planting, through the entire growth cycle, through harvest, distribution, processing where applicable, and end user consumption are replete with volumes of useful and necessary information/data.
The reasons for and/or entities desiring access to such data collection are equally numerous and vary with a wide variety of interested participants. Outbreaks of diseases, which can be dangerous or even fatal in nature, such as E coli etc, can set up the need to be able to trace the production of an agricultural product to find the source of infection. Indeed, attempts have been made to pass food safety legislation directed to such matters. And regulatory bodies such as the US EPA, and/or food protection agencies such as the US FDA and/or USDA may demand such information. Consumers with certain preferences/ideologies, whether secular or religious for example, relating to the manner in which food is produced may want to know the agricultural product's history/pedigree to confirm that it comports with their beliefs/desires/traditions.
Consumer's with preferences/ideologies completely unrelated to the food itself may have an interest in knowing its pedigree, as for example, consumers or others interested in preserving energy may want to know how much energy was expended in producing the agricultural product and/or was it done in a “sustainable” fashion, was it grown with a minimal carbon footprint, minimal water usage or other factors related to sustainability. Sustainability here may include or as a separate matter, the efficiency of conversion of the agricultural product to produce energy (e.g. use as a biodiesel or ethanol based product) or even the efficiency of converting the agricultural product into human energy, e.g. calories, may be considered.
Other entities, such as large retail distributors, are also often equally as interested in such information, with a desire to promote sales of their goods by purchasing them from growers expending the least energy and maintaining a “sustainable” method to produce the agricultural product. Exporters and governmental units overseeing the exportation and/or importation in the US and other countries also desire to know such information to determine if the agricultural product meets, for example, sanitary, phyto-sanitary and MRL standards for a company importing such agricultural products. MRL stands for “maximum residue level” and means the highest residue level permitted, (and usually determined by a governmental agency appointed to regulate such matters in a given country or state), of an active ingredient on a treated commodity or crop. Failure to meet the MRL standard set by the importing country will mean the agricultural product will be refused entry into that market, and in such cases, there may not be enough time to divert the agricultural product to an accepting country before the agricultural product is lost, depending upon the timing and nature of the agricultural product. Also included is information relation to the agricultural product's shelf life or other storage or “use by” dates, directions, recommendations or procedures. Still further is included information relating to cooking, preparing, blending and/or otherwise processing the agricultural product if processing of it is involved.
These are only some of the types of information being generated from the field/farm/fishery/range or other location where the agricultural product is being produced and are only some of those who are interested in such information spanning production and distribution of the agricultural product, such as, in the case of a seed based agricultural product for example, from the time of seed creation through consumption by the end user/consumer. A detailed list of either the information and/or those who would make use of such information would be virtually limitless.
Efforts have been made to track discreet packets of such information. For example, today's modern tractor is a technological wonder, having the ability to guide itself with GPS and provide its crop and/or crop inputs and chemicals almost without, and in some cases, fully without, the need for an operator on board. Equally impressive are the systems aboard such tractors to track when and where the tractor was used, and what it was planting, harvesting, spraying or otherwise doing when it was utilized in the course of the production of the agricultural product. Further, systems are known that are associated with such tractors and/or farm equipment to collect that information and provide it to a recipient, such as a grower, often involving computers and communication devices to transmit and receive such data. Satellite technology too grows rapidly each day in its sophistication and capability and can or will soon measure parameters such as insect stress, fungal stress, drought stress, soil moisture, soil pH, mineral content, nitrogen content (e.g. to provide a plan for variable rate fertilization for example), growth rates, yields, actual and projected, among others. And detecting any such parameters, satellites can turn on or off equipment, such as irrigation systems, in response to what the satellite has observed. Indeed, such a satellite can convey its information directly to its technological partner, the tractor, and can instruct the tractor what to apply when and where to the field and/or when to harvest or otherwise act upon the agricultural product for optimum results. And with global positioning technology and timing devices, the tractor will know where, where and how to conduct such treatment, and can even do so fully automatically without human intervention. Control of a field, for a field based agricultural product, at levels, or even micro-levels heretofore unknown are possible with modern satellite technology. Precision agricultural practices, non stop over, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year are possible with such technology.
Similarly, for the production, harvest, storage, transportation and/or processing stages to the end user/consumer, there are methods at each step in the process of producing the agricultural product that collect certain portions/packets of information. But just as a symphony in warm up session, these separated, uncoordinated independent sources of data operate without harmony, and there remains a long and deep-felt need in the industry for a method and/or system that can “tap the baton” to coordinate this data in a fashion that is usable all along the chain from its early stages of production of the agricultural product, as for example with a seed-based agricultural product, from seed production, through planting and growth, through harvest, storage, distribution, processing where applicable and final consumption. It is also desired that such a system/method be easily accessible and easily used by some or all of those who have need of its information.
The present invention is directed to fulfilling these and other needs, and is described below. It is an object of the present invention to address the deficiencies of the prior art discussed above and to provide a system and method of providing agricultural pedigree for agricultural products throughout production and distribution and use of the same for, among other purposes, communication, real time decision making, predictive modeling, risk sharing and/or sustainable agriculture purposes.